Baking & Snack - June 2018 - 48

KIDS' SNACKING
nic snacks with youth appeal are gaining ground. "Most
kids in the US go to school with a lot of people from different countries and different races," he explained, noting that diversity is also expressed in school lunches.
"They don't see the barriers that older people had from
when they were kids and are much more willing to try
foods and much more adventurous."
Along with seeking flavorful and healthful snacking qualities, today's parents are looking for products
that keep their children alert throughout the day. Busy
schedules practically demand it, and protein-centered
companies are responding.
RXBar, Chicago, now owned by Kellogg Company,
Battle Creek, MI, launched its RXBAR Kids products last
year, which contain 7 g protein and 3g fiber and come in
berry, chocolate chip and apple cinnamon varieties. This
year, it added a peanut butter-and-jelly-inspired variety. Orgain, Inc., Irvine, CA, is introducing OrgainKids
bars that will have half the sugar and twice the fiber of
traditional children's bars in addition to a high amount
of protein. Likewise, ThinkThin, Los Angeles, is debuting thinkKids bars with 7 g protein and 3 g fiber. Power
Crunch, Irvine, CA, also created Snap Sticks, a kid's
protein bar line with 10 to 11 g whey protein. The sticks
come in appealing flavors including Chocolate Lava,
Birthday Cake, Peanut Butter Honey and more.
As demand for meal
replacement snacks
increases, protein
companies are
responding with energyfueling kids' bars.
Fitting the mould
Despite parents being the purchasers, snack producers
can't get caught up in adult preferences because the end
users - the kids - hold a significant amount of purchasing power. According to Packaged Facts, 55% of
parents say their kids' preferences are very important to
Mahi - stock.adobe.com
48 Baking & Snack June 2018 / www.bakingandsnack.com
them. Ninety-one percent say they buy a new product
their child asks for some of the time, and 20% said they
almost always do.
But what makes up a snack that kids reach for?
"Coming up with a kale-quinoa cookie is probably
not going to work," Mr. Lempert said. "The parents
might get excited about it, but you've got to separate
the adult trends from the kid trends to have a successful product." He added companies should take a page
from yogurt's playbook. "There's probably about 10 different kids' yogurts out there," he said. "They have cool
packaging - sometimes with cartoon characters and
sometimes not - and it's really been the flavors that
have excited the kids. Experiment with flavor combinations that kids like."
For youngsters, it's less about the label and more
about the shape, color and flavors of the product. At
first glance, they are also drawn to packaging that tells
them the snack is going to be an adventure. This could
be done through themed characters or bright colors.
Kind kept kids' preferences at the forefront of the
KIND Kids line by creating bars with a chewier texture
compared with its regular bars. The snack also incorporates dynamic packaging with animated young superhero characters to teach heroism through kindness. The
design stands out on the shelves, and the snack is sold
in kid-friendly flavors such as Chocolate Chip, Peanut
Butter Chocolate Chip and Honey Oat.
Frito-Lay, Plano, TX, also rolled out a new line this
summer called Imag!ne, which includes star-shaped
crisps in yogurt with fruit and cheese flavors. The snack's
branding encourages exploration and imagination with
packaging that uses bright, solid colors to offset the